katemiddleton

Got the word back from UCLA and UCSB for Middle Eastern History PhD programs, and I'm in! This takes the sting out of the Berkeley rejection, lol

I'm not sure if this was a nightmare or not: I dreamed that I was at UCSB as the comittee was making the decisions. The building where they met was long and flat, and had only one story, so if you snuck outside and sat under the windows, you could hear what they were saying about your application. Now, student's aren't 'supposed' to do this, but everyone knows that they do, so the professors on the committee would just call students inside if they decided to admit them. In my dream, I didn't hear my name called...and then I woke up...

I called both schools recently. NYU notifies through email in early March. Columbia notifies through email in early April.

they sent the applicants emails. No word from Princeton yet, IMO

yup. and the news was not good. mind you, I'm coming into this season with strong numbers and recommendations, so I am VERY confused.

I don't know about the sciences, but in the humanities it does not affect you at all. I was never even asked a question about arrests/etc on any of my 8 applications. Alex

1. Not editing my SOPs enough-caught 1 or 2 minor mistakes after submitting at my two top choice schools!!! 2. Not editing my writing sample enough-one prominent scholar who I wrote was Pakistani is actually Indian. EEK! (please don't let them catch this...) 3. Not contacting POIs at all 8 schools-I only contacted them at 4 4. Not writing handwritten thank you notes after my interviews at my top 2 schools-I just sent emails to school #1, and typed out my thank yous to school#2 Besides that, I regret the dreams! I'm dreaming about the process constantly!

That is so romantic! (sigh) Good luck!

I wonder what kind of politics could possibly be at play when assessing MA candidates? I understand the politics is complex for the PhD admits, but does anybody know what they look like when applying for a terminal MA? Alex

I love this thread!

Do I get extra points for saying "chag gadol haya [either here or there, depending on your geographic location]?"

From what people on adcomms are telling me (at my specific schools and in my specific programs, so take this with seven grains of salt!) Numbers REALLY matter in two ways 1. In the first round of admissions-it helps people be sorted into the 'yes' 'no' 'maybe' pile 2. in getting university-wide fellowships and funding-the higher the numbers, esp for GRE, the more $ you get BUT 1. if a professor really wants you, your numbers barely matter at all 2. a strong GPA (3.7-4.0) will compensate for a 1200 GRE (which is not a very good score for the tippety top programs, unfortunately). However, nothing will compensate for a low GPA. 3. The GRE's are totally teachable! Take a course, buy books, do flashcards. I walked into the GRE prep process with scores very similar to yours, and walked out of my GRE with just about a perfect score. The Princeton Review course is amaazing. Good luck! Alex

The program at UCLA for modernists is amazing-Gelvin for history/politics, Dr. El Fadl for theology/law. Also UCSB has a strong faculty in modern ME, but more history than politics. Berkeley probably has nothing for you; UChicago may be too Orientalist, if that bothers you. Columbia is amazing-they have Rashid Khalidi and Wael Hallaq!!! I'm applying for an MA there, but it will probably be WAY too expensive. Harvard CMES has Roger Owen, who is maybe one of my favorite living modernists. NYU they take something like 4 applicants per year, and this year may only be taking two-and that's into the MA program, so I assume that the PhD program is even tighter! And then, of course, you have Georgetown, which may be the dream school of every Middle Eastern modernist. I'm not sure how competitive the program is in terms of PhD admits, but I think the MA stats are something like 1/4 applicants get in. Good luck!

I don't want to do it publicly, but I can email it to you if you like

I work on two research journals at my school-one undergraduate, and one graduate. Both of these are good vehicles for publication, at least of an excerpt of your work In addition to publishing in a research journal, you may want to start a blog! Academia in the 21st century is slowly starting to catch up with the new world of internet media. The students who stand the best chance of getting hired may be the ones who understand and can navigate both media 1.0, or print media, and media 3.0-the world of social networks and blogging. It would be interesting if you build a blog or a website around your research/translations, and then publicized this blog/website through sites like facebook, academia.edu, through your school newspaper/academic journals, etc. I truly believe that this kind of public engagement is the future of academia. Alex

You look like a great candidate! I'm applying to similar programs with slightly better numbers but less language, and I think that you're definitely competitive b/c of your Arabic and your travels. Good luck!

Hey guys! Just wanted to put in my 2 cents and wish you all luck I'm a senior at a big state school applying into Harvard's MTS for comparative religious law. I interviewed there in November, and I think (hope) that things went very well! I talked to some of the people in the admissions office, and they told me that there are no 'shortcut' ways of finding out-they email you the second week of March, and that is that. My stats are: 3.9 GPA, 3.85 in major 6.0 AWA, 800 v 700q 1 publication 3 conferences 6 languages strong recommendations (hopefully) strong SOPs interest in a field that HDS is trying to expand I wish us all the best of luck, and I hope to see some of you next year at HDS

Call my mom and cry call my boyfriend and cry call all of my close friends and cry wrap myself in a blanket of alcoholic euphoria for about 1 week cry some more move on with my life re-apply next year

For me, it really depends on the school that I get into. If i get into one of my top two choices, I will 1. throw a GINORMOUS pool party/barbecue for all of my friends and the a-holes in high school who didn't think I could make it (laughs bitterly) 2. go on a big winter-clothing shopping spree! 3. UPDATE MY FACEBOOK STATUS HOURLY, lol. Maybe every 30 minutes, who knows? Just to make sure everybody sees 4. Call all of my friends and family right away, and have them all in one big excited long conference call 5. go out and get so drunk that I don't remember my first name, last name, or even know that I'm smart enough to get into graduate school 6. repeat #5 every single night for about a week Ok, that's all folks! Alex

Wow! What a thoughtful response! In terms of the 'robot' assertion, I hear that all the time, but I have not really found it to be true in my experience. For example, although I sacrifice alot in order to keep my grades and scores high, I also volunteer, intern, work two jobs, and have a close knit circle of friends and family. I'm also in a very happy relationship! So I think the important thing is finding a work/life balance. Alex

Dear Cami, Thanks for the advice! My nervous cat is having kittens in my stomach all day, every day, so every bit of reassurance helps. I actually really liked the essay. It sucks not to be able to give them a writing sample, but this was the next best thing. I basically took the topic of my writing sample, and wrote the essay about it. How about you? Did you find it an odd question? Alex

So my nightmare ended being kind of a good dream. I was sitting in on the ad com meeting of my number one school (guess what it is?) and the professor who I most want to work with, the other professor who I want to work with, and a grad student from my current university are all looking at my statement of purpose, and reading it with a red marker in hand. So the conversation goes like this: Grad Student: "wrong, wrong wrong!" (as she crosses out lines on my SOP) "Where did she find this information, the internet?" POI#1: "Yes, but it's ok, we'll still take her, I like her" Me: crying in a corner, mortified. dubadeedubadee that's all folks! Alex

I work in undergraduate admissions, so this may not count for much, but I have three suggestions. 1. You sound like you have a very interesting personal and intellectual journey. Your SOP should reflect that, and also address what it means to be a Pakistani studying English literature. What in your life inspired you to make this intellectual choice? 2. Raise your GRE score to about a 700 verbal, if you can. This will really help, especially because your AWA is so good! 3. Play the "contact professors game" as early as possible. Start now! Alex